Faith Deployed...Again: Hope and Comfort for Military Wives and Moms

"Hope and encouragement - I can think of no greater gift to give the military home front. Faith Deployed...Again is Christian military wives and mothers...cheering, encouraging, challenging, guiding, mentoring us in our journey to know the Author of Hope, Jesus Christ, while we combat the challenges of the military lifestyle."--Benita Koeman, Operation We Are Here

When my friend and former neighbor Kathy Guzzo told me she had contributed to a devotional for military wives and moms, I thought that was awesome!

I've kept in touch with Kathy through the years, and knew that her son Brian had been a Marine in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that she is active in supporting the troops and military families at home.

Faith Deployed...Again, by Jocelyn Green, includes 25 contributing authors from every branch of the U.S. military. Each brief but meaningful and practical devotion includes a question to ask yourself and a prayer.

Listen to this 2-minute clip from an interview with contributing author Kathy Guzzo.




Kathy conducts a ministry for military familes called "Hope at Home." To receive her newsletter, e-mail Kathy Guzzo at hopeathomeministry@comcast.net



From Faith Deployed.com:

Kathy Guzzo is the mother of four adult children and the author of several articles for military families, including the brochure, “Deployment: What’s A Family To Do?” Her son served in the USMC from 2004-2008, which included deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan. She is the coordinator for Hope at Home Ministry in Rockford, Illinois, serving women with loved ones in the military. She also writes a bi-weekly newsletter sharing encouragement and resources with women across the country. Kathy and her husband of thirty-two years, Mickey, live in Rockford, Illinois.

Booking through Thursday: How Big is Your Library?

I'm participating today in Booking Through Thursday, where the question is:

What’s the largest your personal library has ever been? What’s the greatest number of books you’ve ever owned at one time? (Estimates are fine.)
Is your collection NOW the biggest it’s ever been? Or have you down-sized?
What’s the fewest number of books you’ve ever owned (not counting your pre-reading years)?

Wow, this is a tough question...I'm terrible at estimating!

I have six bookcases in my home full of books, most of them mine. I do think this is the largest amount of books I've ever had, and if we ever move, it's going to be quite a chore to load them all up.

The fewest amount of books were probably during my childhood, although even then I had a decent amount.

Like most bibliophiles, I fantasize about having a home library--one room lined with bookcases and set aside simply for the purpose of reading.

But owning a vast amount of books is never what it's been about for me. I DO want my own copies of all my favorite books. But for me it's mainly about the pleasure and enjoyment of the reading experience, not necessarily how large a library I can accrue.

Go here if you'd like to participate in Booking Through Thursday!

Teaser Tuesday: Too Rich for a Bride

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I'm currently reading Too Rich for a Bride, by Mona Hodgson. After reading several fairly intense books in a row, it's nice to be enjoying a lighter romance set in the Old West!

Here's my teaser:

She was disappointed Tucker hadn't come, and there was no point in denying it. Especially since she seemed to be the only one avoiding the obvious--he had become much more than a mere curiosity to her.

Go to Should Be Reading to participate in Teaser Tuesday!

Saturday Review of Books: P.D. James' The Private Patient

I love the fictional character of Adam Dalgliesh. As I mentioned earlier, I totally picture the actor Clive Owen when I read a Dalgleish mystery. (Ironically--and I didn't put this together till just recently--Owen starred in the movie adaptation of James' book, The Children of Men.)

That being said, although I enjoyed The Private Patient and it kept me turning the pages, I'm a bit ambivalent about it.

First let me set the stage for you--this synopsis from amazon.com:

In James's stellar 14th Adam Dalgliesh mystery (after 2006's The Lighthouse), the charismatic police commander knows the case of Rhoda Gradwyn, a 47-year-old journalist murdered soon after undergoing the removal of an old disfiguring scar at a private plastic surgery clinic in Dorset, may be his last; James's readers will fervently hope it isn't. Dalgliesh probes the convoluted tangle of motives and hidden desires that swirl around the clinic, Cheverell Manor, and its grimly fascinating suspects in the death of Gradwyn, herself a stalker of minds driven by her lifelong passion for rooting out the truth people would prefer left unknown and then selling it for money.

My thoughts:

First of all, it's a bit disconcerting that Dalgleish doesn't show up until we're well into the book. This has been true of the two or three other Dalgleish mysteries I've read as well. Since he's my favorite character, I'd like for him to be involved earlier on. Maybe that's just me?

Also, I can't claim to be a conoisseur of mysteries, despite the fact that a few years ago I went on an avid Agatha Christie spree. But I personally enjoy a mystery where I'm really shocked and surprised by who the murderer is, when finally revealed.

That doesn't happen in this book--at least not for me.

Another thing. I had a hard time caring about any of the characters besides Dalgleish and his assistants, Kate and Benton. Most of the characters lacked anything that would draw me to them or make me care about them, including the murder victims.

So why did I keep reading, and actually find the book enjoyable?

Well, I like James' writing style. I DID want to find out who the murderer was. And yes, I really like Adam Dalgleish. He is a character who is three-dimensional...a poet, a detective, a handsome man, an enigma. Dalgleish is just very appealing.

"My" Adam Dalgleish--actor Clive Owen

I would recommend this book to mystery lovers. You may thoroughly enjoy it, and not be bothered by the few things that somewhat bothered me.

That's all despite the fact that when I reached the end of the book, it was oddly anti-climactic. Not a "Wow, that was a great book!" More like an, "Oh...OK."

I'm participating today in Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books. Click on the icon for more info!

Booking through Thursday: Music to read by?

Participating today in Booking Through Thursday...and the question of the day is:

What, if any, kind of music do you listen to when you’re reading? (Given a choice, of course!)

My answer:

Unless I'm reading in a place where there's music already playing (a car while traveling, a waiting room, etc)--I don't listen to ANY music at all.

Here's the thing. I absolutely love reading and I absolutely love music. But they are each things that I like to immerse myself in completely. Given the choice, I want silence while I'm reading.

That's not to say I'm completely unable to focus if there's music playing. I definitely can and will. But as I said, given the choice, I don't want music or preferably any other noise while reading...it would just be a distraction.

Go here to participate in Booking Through Thursday!

*photo credit

My Latest Book Trailer! Sandra Robbins' Dangerous Reunion

The latest book trailer I've voiced, for Trailer to the Stars.

To find out more about my voice-over work, go here.

Musing Mondays: Movies from Books?

UK poster for 2011 Jane Eyre movie

I'm participating today in Musing Mondays, hosted by Should Be Reading!

The question:

Do you like movies made from books? Which ones do you think have been done well — kept mostly to the plot of the book, etc?

Well, I never like the movie as much as I did the book. As you know if you love to read, you have a mental image in your mind of what's going on in the book--what a certain character looks like, etc. My vision of what the book "looks like" rarely matches the movie.

Also, having to squeeze a story into two hours of film time means much of the book gets omitted. Which is why I often enjoy the BBC mini-series of books more than movies made from them.

What really bothers me is if the movie takes major liberties with the plot, or even changes the author's philosophy or views. For example, although I enjoy seeing the Narnia books brought to life, C.S. Lewis's Christian worldview seems diluted or put on the back burner to me.

I thought the recent Jane Eyre movie did a very good job of condensing the book into a film while still being as true to the book as possible. Mia Wasikowska is my favorite movie Jane yet. As I've said before, she managed to be plain while still radiating a certain beauty.

Gone With the Wind was probably one of the best movies made from a book. It did an amazing job of capturing the book on film...and I did read the book before seeing the movie.

Below are some pictures from movies made from books. And if you're interested, you can go here for a list of the Top 100 Movies Based from Books.

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I'm not a Harry Potter of Twilight fan, but it seems to me most fans are happy with the way the books translated to film.

How about you? Do you have a favorite movie made from a book?

Go here to participate in Musing Mondays!